✍ Scribed by Abbott, Jeff
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
She is a good mother. She will do what she must to ensure that her daughter Diana has a perfect life, just as perfect as the one they've led for the past seven years.
No matter who has to die.
DOWNFALL
The simplest beginnings can unravel a life. For Sam Capra, it is the moment a beautiful young woman walks into his San Francisco bar.
Sam doesn't want trouble. An ex-CIA agent, his only desire now is to build a quiet, peaceful home for himself and his infant son. But Diana Keene is no ordinary customer. She's pursued by two gunmen, and when she finds Sam, she whispers an urgent, desperate plea: "Help me."
And without any warning, Sam is thrust into a fight for his life. For Diana is being hunted by a deadly network-a shadowy alliance of select, influential men and women who use their connections, their authority, and their wealth to bend the world to their will. Now, this network aims its relentless fury against the man interfering with their plans to seize a new level of power: Sam Capra.
Threatened on all sides, Sam has only one hope to survive the network's all-consuming attack and return to his life with his son....he must destroy the man who owns the people who run the world.
Harlan Coben was the first ever author to win all three major crime awards in the US. He is now a global bestseller with his mix of powerful stand-alone thrillers and Myron Bolitar crime novels. He has appeared in the bestseller lists of The Times, The New York Times, Le Monde, The Wall Street Journal and The Los Angeles Times.
Jeff Abbott is the internationally bestselling author of eleven novels, including the thrillers Panic, Fear, and Run and the Sam Capra novels. He is a three-time nominee for the Edgar Award and in 2012 won the International Thriller Writers Award for his novel The Last Minute.
Harlan Coben: If you could go for drinks (possibly to one of Sam's bars) with only one of the characters from Downfall, who would it be? And it's not allowed to be Sam.
Jeff Abbott: Oh, then Mila. She's one of those characters that I had no idea how people would respond to her--and they love her. I've had people ask if I'd ever do a book with her in the lead, rather than Sam. And I feel we still have so much to learn about her--I remember a reviewer commenting about finding out about her past in The Last Minute, saying, well, she wasn't a mystery any more. I've only begun to tell readers about Mila. Lots of secrets still there. So maybe she'd tell me more of them as we sipped her favourite Glenfiddich.
Harlan: Sam is a very likeable lead character. Is he based on anyone you know?
Jeff: There is obviously a certain amount of me in Sam; but there's a certain amount of me in the villains, as well. No, I haven't really based him on anyone I know.
Harlan: You're obviously a fan of thriller writing, but how about thriller movies? Do you have a favourite three?
Jeff: I love North by Northwest--such a wonderful blend of character-driven story, humour, and intrigue. The Seven Samurai is not only a brilliant action film, but it's also a beautiful movie. And does The Godfather count as a thriller? I'm on the edge of my seat when I watch it, and I've seen it many times. It's a great example of suspense deriving from the promise of violence.
Harlan: Without giving anything away, there is an element of the Faustian 'deal with the devil' in the plot of Downfall. What is it that particularly interests you about this idea?
Jeff: Often we feel we're always bargaining with fate--that's what life is. But the story of Faust has stayed relevant for centuries because it's a hugely dramatic situation--what would you give up to have everything that you wanted? What price for your own personal paradise? It's always an inevitable tragedy--it's the best representation, in story, of living with the consequences of your bad choices. And that's what I wanted to show in Downfall--the consequences of making this 'deal with the devil.' Because it doesn't just affect the person who makes the deal, it affects everyone in his life, his family, and many innocent people.
Harlan: Downfall is obviously an action-packed thriller, but at its heart there are strong themes around how far one would go to protect or help their family. Was there something in particular that triggered this idea in your mind?
Jeff: You and I have both dealt with this in our books before--but I think this time it was more a question asked by the bad guys than Sam. And it's an interesting reversal. I always want the antagonists in my stories to think they're the heroes of the story--that they are in the right, they are doing what's necessary for their own interests, that Sam is the bad guy. And here, the question is what will a bad guy do to secure his family's future? Here the bad guys will destroy anyone, even a stranger, who gets in their way; while Sam is the person who will risk it all to help a stranger in need. They're total opposites. And I love that balance, when the hero and villain are really the opposite sides of the same coin.
Harlan: What are you working on next?
Jeff: I've just finished Sam Capra #4, which will be out in the summer of 2014 in both the UK and the US.
"Bestseller Abbott packs a lifetime of thrills and suspense into a mere five days...Abbott excels at spinning complex webs of intrigue combining psychological twists and abundant action...Sam is both pawn and knight in an exciting chess game that moves from San Francisco to Portland, Ore.; Denver; Las Vegas; and Chicago." (Publishers Weekly)
"Often wildly entertaining...Abbott manages to pack a ton of action into a book that covers a mere five days." (Austin-American Statesman)
"Filled with action, intrigue, twists, and a variety of locales. At 464 pages, it's perfect for a summer weekend's reading pleasure." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
"Action-packed, never-stop-for-a-breath storytelling." (Dallas Morning News)
"Abbott is one of the best thriller writers in the business, and he delivers action and complex characters in an explosive cocktail. The next Capra novel cannot come fast enough." (Associated Press on The Last Minute)
"Like Adrenaline, this is a fast-paced thriller with a likable, morally conflicted hero. Sam is in a difficult situation, seemingly forced to commit murder to find his son, and--this is a testament to Abbott's skills as a storyteller--we really don't know whether he will follow through. The book ends on an upbeat note, giving Sam a certain amount of closure. Still, let's hope Abbott isn't through with Sam. He's a very well drawn character, and it would be nice to see him again." (Booklist on The Last Minute)
"The Adrenaline rush that won't stop." (San Antonio Express-News)
"Twisty, turny, and terrific." (USA TODAY on Adrenaline)
"[An] edgy, seat-of-your-pants spy caper." (Entertainment Weekly on Adrenaline)
"Outstanding . . . genuinely moving . . . Abbott hits full stride early on and never lets up. Readers who thrive on a relentless narrative pace and a straight line to the finish won't be disappointed." (Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Adrenaline)
"Extremely compelling . . . a thriller that will get even the most jaded reader's pulse racing . . . a grand slam home run." (Associated Press on Adrenaline)
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